If you have problems with your emotions and find yourself swinging between spiritual experiences and emotions that seem to bring you back into suffering, you should read this blog. That’s because struggling with your emotions will keep you centered in limitation, while your real nature, which is space-like Awareness transcends all limitations.
This is an email conversation between Ross and Michael:
Ross:
I am enjoying your book. As a student of A course in Miracles Jesus tells us anger is never justified. It is a misperception. Your insights are very similar to the course presented in a different way but with the same ultimate conclusion as truth must always be. I am awareness you say. The course says “I am as God created me". Same conclusion.
Thank you Michael
Michael:
Hi Ross As for anger it does have a place. If anger was always bad Jesus would have lost his sage hood when he got angry at the money lenders in the temple.
In fact all of your emotions have a place in life. For a sage they are like tools in his tool chest. You use the right tool for the right job, right? The time when you have to examine yourself is when you attempt to use a sledge hammer to drive in a finishing nail.
When you emotions get out-of-whack _____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift of enlightenment to yourself or others when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
When your emotions are not appropriate for the situation, it is a sure sign that you are feeling limited by some conceptual framework and reacting off of it. For instance if you find yourself constantly getting angry with your wife, the person that you are supposed to love, it is time to look and see what you are taking to be true.
Here are some questions that you can ask yourself in order to unfurl these concepts: do you think she has the ability to give you your innate happiness, and then to destroy it? Did you learn certain behaviors from your parents that you just repeat without looking at them to see if they are really the best way to have a relationship?
Here is one of my favorite blogs. Self Knowledge is amazing. It points to the place where your high experiences no longer come and go. They just morph into that which you are, your true identity. What you are has to be experienced; it does not adequately fit into words and thoughts. But once you discover the meaning of these words, you will know what life is meant to be. So enjoy this blog and live in your innate freedom forever.
If you ever wondered why your spiritual experience came to an end, and how you can get back to those wonderful heights, pay attention to Bree’s question. It is a very perceptive question on coming down after a high experience. Then we will discuss how to cut the strings of limitation so that you never come down again.
Hello there Michael,
There was a time when i saw the intensity of truth in every one and everything. I saw the essence of god and divinity in all i encountered, leading me on a journey in embracing the unification of all the people, places and ideals
i came in contact with. i could stare at a wall, talk to a flower and hear the grace of Truth speaking to me and through me. i would fall into the eyes of a stranger with the sacred divine intimacy surrounding us. They would pour out their hearts to me; speaking of all the fears they work so hard to keep hidden.
i knew in those precious instances what their souls were thirsty for, they would say to me "i felt compelled to tell you all of this i am not usually like this...." i understood. i could hear the message of our souls in a clear communication, i knew my purpose loud and clear. my disciplines and spiritual practices reflected the trust i had with god, in which became a reflection to all my surroundings.
so i understand that the seasons change, sometimes its a rebirth with spring or its chaos with winter, and how they reflect the essence of our experiences, how ever as time passed i started to feel used and saw how others put me on a pedestal. i saw my ego feeding the image of enlightenment, and i saw it creating a separation between myself and others.
its funny because the first trial for me in creating the sacred intimacy in communicating the "truth", at fist i had a fear of them not wanting to be around me because i reflect what i am most passionate about, and that is facing ones self, in order to see the ego and not react to it, so you’re not lost underneath its spell, i chose to feel the hunger of my soul instead, and in that choice some hesitate to be in my life while others do not want to let go at all.
i could keep going because the stories never end, and that’s the best part. i love living. i love being. And i love loving! i am very grateful for this wonderful experience that we call life. My question for you Michael is what insight do you receive when you read this? Thank you for your time!
With love Bree!
Here was our response: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
Thank you for your important question. I know very few people who have the kind of self awareness that your question reflects. I think this came from your deep spiritual experience of oneness and connection with everyone.
What is the key to enlightenment? The thing about self-knowledge is that it is meant to be experiential and not just intellectual. In fact I think self-discovery is a better name for waking up to what we really are. That’s because with self-discovery your experience changes in ways that you could not have imagined. Another way of saying this is: self discovery will blow your mind.
Let’s take an example so that you can experience what I am saying right now. Let’s take a fresh look at where the world actually sits. We all know that I’m over here and the world is over there, right?
But the key to self discovery is to examine our everyday experiences with fresh eyes. If we can do this we will find that our actual experience is different and more amazing then it’s supposed to be. So with this for an introduction, let’s look at our experience of the world from several different angles:
What is the world anyway? _____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
___________________________________________________________________ I am sitting here at a cafe in Carmel California looking outside at a lavender flowering bush. First I see a window frame with glass then I see the bush. Now similarly if I was in here and the world was out there, first I should see my eye sockets and then I should see the world, right? But that’s not really my experience, is it? I just see the world without the sense that the world is over there and I am here. I do not really experience any distance between me and the world. So going by my actual experience where does the world begin and the I end? I can’t really say, right?
Is the world really out there? Ok, let’s look at the world from a different angle that will again defy the common understanding of where we are located and where the world is located. Even though I will use seeing, you can do this experiment with any sense, eyes, ears, touch, smell and taste. What happens when you see the violet flowering bush?
Your eyes act like a camera and the picture goes from your eyes to the optic nerve. From the optic nerve the picture enters your brain and from the brain it enters your mind. Then you see your mind. So when you say, “I am seeing the world,” you are really only seeing your mind, right? So every object that you think is out there is really just in your mind. Is this what the Buddha meant when he said, “There is nothing outside the Buddha Mind?” Did you know that you can experience this as part of your normal everyday experience? That means that you can become a living Buddha.
Look at your experience afresh The real key to enlightenment is to look at your experience with fresh eyes and with wonder. The whole mystery of the universe is here, right before our eyes. The only barrier that we have for seeing things as they really are is that we assume too much about the world, ourselves and our mind. If we just start to questions some of these assumptions, we will find that even now we are in the place that we want to be. And most important, this place is much more beautiful and amazing than we could have imagined.
Even though everything will be the same, this meditation on Self-discovery will change your experience in ways that you could never have imagined; and you will never be bored.
Feel free to ask questions Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please
feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your
reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path
of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows
you to abide in your natural freedom.
If the comment section of this blog
doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend
Ruth has the following reply to Kirk about where we go when we die. Did you know when you trace your Awareness back to its source you find that you were never born and will never die?
Hello Michael,
I wanted to reply to this Kirk person about where we go when we die.
1) We are pure light energy 2) Energy never dies 3) We are here to collect more information, to learn and return back home to our true essence of being ness with more knowledge 4) Those who have finished their learning cycle through many incarnations do ascend, their learning is complete 5) Then there are ascended beings who choose to return to help a multitude of other beings, they are here as teachers and leaders of humanity
Thanks and lots of light, Ruth
Hi Ruth,
Yes you are right; energy is a path to God, which is the essence of the universe. But you should know that it is a very difficult path, ripe for the multi-lifetime approach. That’s because energy often gets mixed up with the one who seems to have it or transmit it. That “I” is just another thought in your mind and not really you.
You may have heard of this sense of "I" called the ego. What this ego does is take you original identity, which is greater than any container that you see, like the body and mind and limits it down to one thought "I". You know: “Look what I can do,” or “I have more energy than you,” or “I have a higher degree black belt than you.”
The ego emphasizes the container, not pure energy All of these statements reinforce the container of the energy so that you never get to experience energy in its original unbridled state. Now you may have heard of God described as not just omnipotent (total energy) but omnipresent (everywhere), and omniscient (all-knowing consciousness) too.
The easiest way to God is to trace Awareness back to its source
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
___________________________________________________________________ For me the easiest way to God is to trace Awareness back to its source. You do this by noticing that you are not limited by anything that you see. Taking this practice through, you will discover the real essence of the universe, not by standing separate and looking at it. Rather you will know God because that’s what you really are: omniscient, undying, and ever present Awareness. And this is the thing that most people overlook.
That’s because they cannot see Awareness, the ultimate subject, like they see an object. And so they look right past their expansive freedom and take themselves to be an object that they see like a body, mind, or the thought "I".
So Self-Knowledge is the practice of looking within to find that which is not bound by limitation. Remember, you do not know this Awareness as a separate thing. You know it because you are it. When you rest here, you will know that which has always been free of birth and will never die. Can you believe that if you know who you truly are you will be free of death?
Everything is really just Awareness On this path, it is not that you get more knowledge until you finally know enough to get enlightened. Rather as Awareness you are already omniscient (universal knowledge). This is like knowing that the essence of a movie is the screen. When you reach out to touch the movie you find that it was only the screen. Similarly you may not know every detail in the world. But you will know that it is your Awareness that makes it seem so real. Did you know that the world is really just your Awareness?
Beings, who hold themselves separate are not the best help As for these ascended beings that are there to help you at a certain stage, they may be saintly but they still hold themselves as separate from you, and being separate they have not seen the essence of there being. Remember God is omnipresent. That means that nothing can stand separate from God.
If these ascended beings think they are separate from you or higher than you they have not yet seen the glorious oneness which is the essence of your being. The best help on the path of Self-Knowledge is to rest as Awareness and Bliss, the essence of your being and let that do the teaching.
I hope that this brings clarity for you. If you have any questions or more comments please feel free to ask or write. I will be glad to put your comments on the blog.
Feel free to ask questions Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please
feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your
reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path
of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows
you to abide in your natural freedom.
If the comment section of this blog
doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend
Based on my first answer in the last blog (Do we die when the body passes away?), Kirk had some further questions:
Since awareness is all there is I am wondering why we even have bodies at all? Also why are we being conditioned from day one to believe in separate selves and that the mind is us? Where did we go wrong in this search?
Kirk
Hi Kirk,
Thanks for your questions. As to why we have bodies, assuming that we do, there are many different explanations depending on which religion you believe in. But I have two favorites:
So we can enjoy finding our innate freedom First so that we can have the joy of discovering that we are not limited to the body at all, because our identity actually encompasses the whole universe and does not change in any state that we find ourselves in, including life and death.
Out of ignorance And second we have bodies because of ignorance. We assume that we are located in a body and then we desire the people and things that we perceive as separate from us, in order to find completion. We are also afraid of some people and things, because we fear that they will block and snatch away our happiness. And thus we are here out of desire and fear, which you might know as karma.
But ignorance is an odd creature. Although it is beginning-less it has an end. Here is an example: when did you become ignorant of the fact that we have a blog? You can't say, right? But in an instant when you found out about this blog, your ignorance about it ended. In the same way, when you discover your real identity, at that instant you are no longer limited by the body or thoughts in the mind.
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
___________________________________________________________________ As for conditioning, it assumes that we will not reevaluate the ideas that we take to be true. That’s why I encourage your questioning. In the same way that curiosity killed the cat, it also kills limitation. The root of limitation is what we believe about the world, our self, and our mind. When we stop assuming that these beliefs are true and start questioning them, they vanish into thin air.
Again and again these beliefs seem to lead to the same suffering. You may notice that when you are in certain situations, the same feelings of limitation and suffering come up. This may be accompanied by inappropriate responses to that situation. You may be able to predict your responses with, “Here we go again!”
Here is a simple example. If you think, “I can't do math,” and believe it, you may find yourself struggling with math. Notice the belief in this thought created a conceptual framework that seemed to limit you, not the thought itself.
But when you notice that “I can't” is just a thought and not necessarily true, you leave a space where you once felt limited, and then, who knows, you might find that you are perfectly capable of doing math.
The light of awareness will destroy conditioning Notice that a moment of shining light on this belief is enough to destroy it. No matter how long you took this thought to be true, an honest look at it can destroy it in a second. Another way of saying this is that in a second you destroyed your conditioning.
Destroying our conditioning is a one-step process Now here’s the most interesting thing about destroying your frameworks. It is a one step process and not two. Most people think, “First I have to see my beliefs and then I have to correct them.” But this is not true and will just lead to struggling with your mind.
Rather Self-Knowledge is a one step process. Remember, you are the ultimate subject; what you see you are not. When you see a limiting belief that you took to be true, you are automatically free from it. The proof of this type of inquiry is that the next time a situation comes up that seemed to cause suffering, you will find a big surprise. You will feel free. This will not be a controlled feeling; it will be the natural feeling of freedom that comes right from your being.
A suggestion for finding limiting beliefs If you want to know where you can find limiting beliefs in play, just check out your human relationships. If you are like I was, that will be fertile ground for discovering limiting beliefs that you take to be true. And most importantly by shining the light of Awareness on these beliefs, you will find that your conditioning will be destroyed in an instant. Then your life will change in ways you could not have anticipated.
The only thing we did wrong was look to the world for our sense of reality, when reality comes from our true identity. That's why this teaching was pasted down from eternity. To point people in the direction that will lead to the real fulfillment of their lives. I hope that this raises more questions for you in your quest for freedom. Please feel free to ask here.
Feel free to ask questions Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please
feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your
reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path
of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows
you to abide in your natural freedom.
If the comment section of this blog
doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend
Kirk had the following question on life and death. This will show the real value of discovering your Self-Nature.
Say we become aware then the body dies-what happens to our awareness that we discovered while alive?
thank you I can never get anyone to answer this
Kirk
Hi Kirk,
This is an important question. When you discover the answer to this, you will not taste death. The key to finding this is to discover your real identity, to find what you really are.
Awareness is not an object For instance when you say we become aware you are talking as if you are separate from awareness. And thus you are assuming that awareness is an object that you see. And of course when you die objects disappear.
But awareness is not an object, it is what you are; it is the still vantage point from which you recognize all that changes. It is also the thing that makes everything that you perceive seem so real.
What is Kirk anyway? _____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
This may seem hard to comprehend with your mind. But here is an illustration that may help. There were three people in your dream last night. The first person, Kirk Gates, was a very rich man and everyone admired him for doing so much and having so much money.
The second person, Kirk Yogi, had learned how to levitate in the dream. Everyone was amazed when during his talks he could float off the platform and to the ceiling.
The third person was Kirk Sage. He sat quietly in the background and people hardly noticed him. But he had discovered that he was not limited by the body or mind. Rather he was the mind of the waking one. When the body dies he knew that he would remain exactly the same as the real substance of the dream, which of course is just the mind of the dreamer.
The Self is the only thing that lasts In the short run it may seem as though the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, and yogic powers might bring the real satisfaction in life. But Self realization is the thing that lasts. That's because you get to discover the real substance of the universe. Also you get to abide at the source of peace and joy, unaffected by the changing condition of the body and mind.
When the body passes away, many people are in for a big surprise. That's because the place where most people think they stand, the body and certain frameworks in the mind, gets swept out from underneath them.
When you die to limitation you will never die again That's when they get to see the real conceptual beliefs that drove their life. As you can imagine, this can be very disconcerting. But if your identity is awareness, as the body and mind changes, nothing really changes. You remain just as you always are. That's because you have already died to limitation. And when you die to limitation, you will never die again.
I hope this raises lots of questions for you because when you question what you take to be normal, that's when you start to grow. Please feel free to continue asking questions.
Feel free to ask questions Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please
feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your
reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path
of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows
you to abide in your natural freedom.
If the comment section of this blog
doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend
Here is a question that points to the difference between purely intellectual knowledge and the experiential knowledge that we call “Self-Knowledge:”
I’ve been studying Self-Knowledge (nonduality) for many years. But I don’t feel happier and I don’t feel that my life and my experiences are changing. So I feel stuck in the same place that I was when I started my study. So how do I proceed from here?
Many people consider spirituality as a way of changing their thoughts from what they consider bad and distracting, to good and peaceful, or to no thoughts at all. There are many techniques for doing this including walking meditations, watching your breathing, starring at a candle, and repeating a mantra.
When people start their study of Self-Knowledge they often have experience with these meditation techniques and so they continue with the old techniques, even while taking up this new exploration. And so they consider Self-Knowledge as another way to change their mind.
You can’t fix your thoughts _____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
The problem with this is that the mind is always changing. Even if you can fix it in a favorable state for a few moments in time, when your attention changes, your mind will change too and it will go back to the state that you think is natural for it. For instance if you consider distraction to be your natural state then you mind will revert to distraction; if you think that fear is its natural state then your thoughts will revert to your fears.
Moreover, there are many things that can affect the state of your mind. As an example the tiniest change in the chemical balance of your body can affect your mind. Diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as conceptual frameworks that you learned from your parents and friends, or you just made up by yourself, can also affect the state of your mind.
The more you focus on your thoughts the more imposing they become Although it is possible to free yourself from limiting conceptual frameworks, as you can see, it is next to impossible to control your thoughts or still them completely. Stilling your mind is like trying to still the waves in a lake; the more you try to stop them the bigger the waves get. Similarly the more you focus on your thoughts the bigger and more imposing they become.
So you may ask, “If I can’t control and still my mind how can I find the peace and joy that all sages promise?" The answer is that this peace is not a state of mind; it is a state of being.
Rather than attempting to control your mind, in Self-Knowledge you have to discover what you really are. Your mind is just a tiny object that you see, it isn’t you. But here’s the thing that’s even more amazing. The “my” in “My mind” is not you either. What you think is the subject is really just another thought in your mind. It is not you at all. The proof is that you see this thought. It is an object that you see and not the real subject.
Ramana Maharshi called this “My” the “I” thought. He described it as a thief dressing up like a policeman and then attempting to catch the thief. What do you think will happen? You have the same problem when you take yourself to be the limited “I” thought, and from there attempting to control or still the mind. What you have is a jumble of thoughts attempting to control other thoughts. So when you think, “I am going to control my anger,” the thought I is in motion as well as the anger. Is it any wonder that you never get anywhere?
The purpose of Self-Knowledge is to find your real identity The purpose of Self-Knowledge is not to control your mind. Rather it is to assume your real identity as ever-present consciousness; to return to your rightful place, free from every limitation that you see including thoughts.
So what then is the problem? You do not see Consciousness, you see from Consciousness. So it is easy to overlook what you are and take yourself to be an object that you see. If you can untangle yourself from the limited objects that you see like the body and thoughts in the mind, you will find a freedom that is not defined by your thoughts. You will find that you were always centered right in the thing that you were looking for.
You will then be the “Kingdom of heaven that’s within you,” “The peace that passes all understanding.” You will not know this as a separate object. You will know this because that’s what you are. In the next blog I will give some suggestions so that you can step beyond the limiting concepts that seem to bother you.
Feel free to ask questions Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows you to abide in your natural freedom.
If the comment section of this blog doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend
